Looking to Get My Toes Wet for the First Time

Niko1808

New Member
Hello, this is my first post so I'd like to start by introducing myself. I'm Nikolai, glad to be here! :)

I've been thinking about getting a saltwater aquarium for about half a year. I have a general idea about what I'm going to do, but I still have many questions, so hopefully you guys/gals can lend me some of your experience and knowledge.

To start off I'd like to go over the physical setup and make sure I'm not overlooking anything. I'm open to any suggestions you guys have, but I live in Canada so my list of retailers is fairly short compared to my southern neighbours.

Aquarium & Stand - 60 Gallon Marineland Heartland Ensemble http://m.petsmart.com/h5/hub?id=fis...d36-17295/cat-36-catid-300013?var_id=36-17295

Filtration - I've read that as far as filtration goes the methods generally come in the following order, from best to worst: reactor, canister, power. But I would like to try and keep the inside of the tank fairly clear without having to set up a sump, so I was hoping a HOB power filter and skimmer would be sufficient, hopefully someone with some experience has some insight. If I were to go with a hang on back power filter, should I use one for a larger size tank as reef systems have a much higher bio-load than freshwater systems? HOB Protein Skimmer http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/AquaC-Remora-Hang-On-Protein-Skimmer-w-Drain-Fitting.html HOB Power Filter http://m.petsmart.ca/h5/hub?id=fish...d36-16885/cat-36-catid-300019?var_id=36-16885

Heater - Ebo Jager 200W Eheim https://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/Ebo-Jager-200W-Heater-15-inch-Eheim.html

Powerhead - 4x Hydor Koralia Evolution 550/600 (Total flow rate of approximately 40x the tank volume) http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B004F461UA/

Lighting - This is something I'm completely lost on. The aquarium comes with a hood, but I'm sure that I will need to buy separate lights to provide for the coral. I'm not sure if I should go LED, T5, or metal halide. I am trying to keep my costs comparatively low though, so keep that in mind in your suggestions please. I know some lighting options can be a huge expense.

RO/DI - http://www.reefsupplies.ca/online-store/MPRO-90GPD-RO-SYSTEM-by-Spectrapure.html

Now for the fun part, here's what I'm looking at to populate the aquarium.

Fish
1x True Percula Clownfish

Invertebrates
Dwarf Colored Featherduster

Coral
Green Fluorescent Mushroom
Trumpet
Fire & Ice Colony Polyp
Radioactive Dragon Eye Colony Polyp
Pipe Organ Coral

Cleanup Crew
1x Purple Shortspine Pincushion Urchin
1x Lettuce Sea Slug
2x Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
2x Electric Blue Hermit Crab
2x Electric Orange Hermit Crab
5x Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab
1x Snapping Shrimp
2x Peppermint Shrimp
1x Banded Coral Shrimp
2x Spiny Star Astraea
10x Astraea Turbo Snail
10x Nassarius Snail
5x Cerith Snail
1x Fighting Conch

Do you think this is a good number of invertebrates? Should I have more/less?

Do you see any groupings that are likely to result in conflict in this setup? I'm trying to keep my tank fairly peaceful, so if there's anything I've missed please let me know. :)

Thanks in advance for your knowledge!

Edit #1: I forgot to mention a couple concerns I have about the weight of the aquarium. The stand it comes with is made of MDF and I had read that on hardwood floors (like mine) it is possible that as the MDF bows the legs could spread and the stand could collapse. A couple fixes I can think of off the top of my head are adding cross braces inside, or just placing it on a rug to stop the legs from sliding. Also, I'm planning to put this in my second floor office, my house is somewhat old being built in '57 so I'm wondering if I should be concerned about the weight of the aquarium.

Edit #2: Removed Birds Nest Coral from the list. It was the only organism requiring high light intensity and water flow, so I've decided it's not worth increasing my costs to keep it. Removed Bulb Anemone, the cons seem to greatly outweigh the pro of it possibly hosting my clowns: it could harm my corals, or even possibly eat the clowns. Reduced numbers on cleaning crew.
 
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Pat24601

Well-Known Member
Wow, you've really thought things through. Impressive research!

Welcome to the forums!

For the most part, I think you are thinking this through well. I'll circle back to this post when I have a bit of time, but I think filtration and lighting is likely where we can help clarify a but.

Btw, the aquarium and stand link came up for me with a list. Which one specifically are you thinking?
 
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Niko1808

New Member
My apologies, I'm looking at grabbing the Marineland 60 Gallon Heartland w/ Stand.



Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the group.

I understand your new and full of enthusiasm. However, you selection of equipment and livestock has a lot of major problems. Rather that go into great detail, I suggest that you forget about your plan for the time being and figure out exactly what your trying to do with your SW aquarium system. Next figure out what you want to keep and lastly select the equipment to do it. One mistake many beginners make is getting the wrong equipment for their needs. Another is trying to do way too much initially.

Case in point, your plans call for overcrowding the tank. Now a very experienced reef keeper might, and I emphasize might, get away with this. As a beginner, you will end up with a tank of very dead livestock. Figure that no matter how much you read and learn,you will make a few mistakes. Make sure your system has enough of a margin for error so it can recover.

Get a good solid background in the basics. You'll have a much greater chance of success, spend a lot less money, and be able to ask the right questions.

I have posted this before, but it's worth repeating -

DaveK's Standard Lecture #1 – Advice for people new to the hobby

The very first thing you want to do, before you spend any money on equipment or livestock, is get yourself a few good books on state of the art reef systems. Then read and study them, so you have some idea about what your are doing.

Here are two to start with -

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner

The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paleta <---This book has an especially good section on fish suited to someone starting off in the hobby.

This is information that you can not easily obtain from the net. While it's out there, it's all over the place, and there is a massive volume of information. There is also a lot of bad information out there.

Once you get that done, plan or rethink your system. What do you want to keep? Do you have the necessary equipment? Do you have the knowledge to keep the livestock you want? Do you have the time to dedicate to keeping a system and it's livestock?

Many salt water fish, corals and inverts often have very specific requirements. Some are extremely difficult to keep alive, even if you do everything right. Before you get anything, research it, and be sure it will work out in your system.

Lastly, you will find that most LFS people are clueless when it comes to SW systems. Verify their advice, until they prove otherwise.
 

Ceejai777

Active Member
6 fish isn't a lot for a 60g but the cleanup crew you want is quite large, in my opinion. I don't have enough experience with all you mentioned so I can't specifically comment on compatibility but I would worry greatly about them not having enough to eat and starving/dying.

I wouldn't worry at all about the weight of the tank on the floor. I had a 150g on a 2nd floor in a house built in '77 with no issues. My landlord was concerned but consulted with a contractor who said it was fine.
 
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